Nationals Select Two College Southpaws in Expanded 2025 MLB Mock Draft

The 2025 MLB draft is fast-approaching, and the Washington Nationals have a massive decision to make with the first overall selection.

But they also need to hit on more than just that pick.

Soon after letting go of both Mike Rizzo and Dave Martinez, the Nationals now face a potential franchise-altering draft. The groundwork is there in Washington, but they still need to further build out their farm system.

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With bats like James Wood, Dylan Crews and CJ Abrams already in place, ESPN's Kiley McDaniel has the Nationals going with two college pitchers with their first two picks in the draft.

No. 1 - LHP Kade Anderson, LSU

Anderson would be the second LSU Tigers alum to be selected with the first overall pick in the past three years. While he might not be as electric of a prospect as Paul Skenes, not very many are.

Anderson had a fantastic spring and would be a great player to add to the organization.

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The 21-year-old posted a 3.18 ERA over 19 starts this season with a 1.059 WHIP and a whopping 180 strikeouts in 119 innings.

Anderson has a nice and easy delivery with a mid-90s fastball and intriguing off-speed/breaking stuff. His changeup has vastly improved and his curveball has looked dominant at times.

He helped his case a bunch during the College World Series with a shutout in the finals.

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While Ethan Holliday is a fun project player, Anderson would fit the timeline better and help solve one of the biggest needs of the ballclub: elite pitching prospects.

MacKenzie Gore has shown ace potential this year, so adding Anderson to the farm system along with Travis Sykora and Jarlin Susana could give them a formidable rotation in the future.

No. 49 - LHP J.D. Thompson, Vanderbilt

McDaniel has Washington sticking in the SEC with another southpaw to add to their pipeline.

Thompson is actually a very similar player to Anderson; he just didn't have the same results and is more of a control-first pitcher.

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The 21-year-old posted a 4.00 ERA this past spring as a Friday night starter with a 1.211 WHIP and 122 strikeouts in 90 innings.

His fastball sits in the low-90s, but has some nice movement up in the zone. The next-best pitch he has is a killer high-70s, low-80s slider.

Thompson would be a nice mix of a higher-floor, lower-ceiling prospect and would provide solid value for the Nationals in the second round.

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